Comparative Democratic Systems Final
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Comparative Democratic Systems explores the diverse forms, structures, and practices of democracy around the world. This course examines the origins and evolution of democratic institutions, the variations in electoral systems and governance models, and the factors that shape political participation and representation. Through comparative analysis of established and emerging democracies, students will investigate challenges such as political polarization, populism, and regime backsliding. The course encourages critical thinking about how different cultural, economic, and historical contexts impact the functioning and development of democratic systems globally.
Recommended Textbook
The Struggle for Democracy 9th Edition by Edward S. Greenberg
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The framework advanced by the authors to aid our understanding of American politics suggests that every political actor, institution, and process can be located in one of four categories. Which of the following is NOT one of those sectors?
A) system
B) government
C) political linkage
D) structure
E) government action
Answer: A
Q2) The number of people living in democratic societies has increased over the years. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Identify the four categories in the authors' analytical framework. Answer: structural, political linkages, governmental, and governmental action
Q4) Define "Jim Crow."
Answer: Popular term for the system of legally sanctioned racial segregation that existed in the American South until the middle of the twentieth century.
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) The United States' international reputation entered a free-fall over treatment of prisoners in
A) Guantanamo Bay.
B) American prisons.
C) Abu Ghraib.
D) European prisons.
E) A & C
Answer: E
Q2) The Articles of Confederation provided for a strong central government and a legislature with the powers to make war, levy taxes, and regulate interstate commerce.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Many of the nation's leading citizens were alarmed by the apparent inability the Articles of Confederation government to maintain public order during Shays's Rebellion.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Federalism States and Nations
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Q1) According to Figure 3.2, which of the following are concurrent powers?
A) establish local governments
B) conduct elections
C) regulate interstate commerce
D) establish courts
E) license professions
Answer: D
Q2) Federalism is a system in which
A) powers are divided between the central government and smaller governmental units.
B) the constituent units or states retain ultimate authority and can veto major actions.
C) the central government retains all governmental power and can change its constituent units.
D) the smaller units or states retain most power but must submit essential legislation for approval by the public.
E) powers of the central government are distributed across co-equal branches of government.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Structural Foundations of the American Government
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Q1) Immigration tends to undermine the culture of the United States, by confusing citizens and new-comers as to what is really "American".
A)True
B)False
Q2) How has the U.S. been situated as a world power since the end of the Cold War?
Q3) Discuss the importance of core beliefs to the notion of political culture. Does agreement on these core beliefs necessarily translate into agreement on what government should do on specific policy decisions? Why or why not?
Q4) The rate of migration to the United States has been accelerating, and during the 1990s, more immigrants arrived than in any other decade in American history.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What impact did industrialization have on population shifts in American society?
Q6) Given a belief in competitive individualism, Americans tend to support redistributive policies.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Americans are among the richest people in the world on a ________ basis.
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Q1) Most evangelical Christians are ideologically ________.
Q2) Public opinion is defined as
A) opinion polling data.
B) the political attitudes and beliefs expressed by ordinary citizens.
C) the political behavior of ordinary citizens.
D) an elite perception of the views of ordinary citizens.
E) the public interest.
Q3) Blacks and whites do not differ very much in political opinions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Political learning during _______seems to be particularly important as it is the period when people attain their core beliefs and general outlooks about the political world.
A) childhood and adolescence
B) adulthood
C) college
D) marriage
E) retirement
Q5) The sense of belonging to a political party is called ________.
Q6) What impact does "social class" have on American politics?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: News Media
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Q1) The source of international and national news for most newspapers and networks is
A) the federal government.
B) The New York Times.
C) foreign embassies.
D) the Associated Press.
E) The Washington Post.
Q2) Which of the following statements about media is NOT true
A) The profit motive of media encourages appeals to American patriotism.
B) The profit motive encourages media to appeal to large audiences.
C) The profit motive limits the substance and depth of news coverage.
D) The profit motive encourages a range of alternative perspectives in news programs.
E) The profit motive emphasizes news stories with dramatic appeal and impact.
Q3) For the media to contribute to democracy, it should try to
A) provide accurate political information to citizens.
B) represent opposition to the government.
C) make profits for media companies.
D) provide good information to consumers of merchandise.
E) provide fast political information to citizens.
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8
Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Corporations
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Q1) Earmarks are
A) special provisions in appropriations bills directed at specific organizations.
B) rarely used by members of Congress.
C) mostly in non-defense appropriations bills.
D) only hurtful to legislators' reelection chances.
E) spending bills that typically cost taxpayers a few million dollars
Q2) The idea that alliances form between interest groups, bureaucratic agencies, and subcommittees of Congress has been called
A) capture.
B) clientelism.
C) iron triangles.
D) interest group liberalism.
E) subgroup politics.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an example of a private interest group?
A) the American Red Cross
B) the Trial Lawyers Association
C) the National Federation of Independent Business
D) the American Farm Bureau Federation
E) the Service Employees International Union
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Social Movements
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Q1) Political efficacy is important to social movements in the sense that
A) people from the outside looking in will think that their actions will make a difference.
B) social movements have often required public support.
C) resources are important to the success of social movements.
D) new majorities may develop out of social movements.
E) none of the above
Q2) Which of the following statements describes a social movement that is NOT likely to be successful?
A) The movement stimulates the formation of a powerful countermovement.
B) The movement seeks to influence the political fortunes of elected leaders.
C) The movement becomes the focus of extensive media attention.
D) The movement's goals are closely linked to existing American values.
E) The movement is able to significantly disrupt everyday life.
Q3) Movements that are considered too ________ are often repressed by the government.
Q4) What was the most effective tool of the civil rights movement?
Q5) The refusal of ________ to give up her seat helped spark the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.
Q6) What role did Rosa Parks play in the Civil Rights movement?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) Gridlock is most likely
A) under conditions of unified government.
B) during periods of realignment.
C) during periods of divided government.
D) when Republicans control the White House.
E) at the state than federal level of government.
Q2) The authors of your text claim that the United States has entered a Seventh Party Era. What evidence can you bring forth to support this claim? What about any counter arguments? Do you agree or disagree with the authors' assessment?
Q3) The first political party was loosely organized and took the name
A) Democrat.
B) Republican.
C) Anti-Federalist.
D) Federalist.
E) Liberty.
Q4) Since the 1960s, unified government has occurred more frequently than divided government has.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Participation Voting, and Elections
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Q1) The prospective voting model
A) relies exclusively on party identification to predict vote choice.
B) means that voters vote based on what government has done in the past.
C) means that voters are interested in and capable of deciding what government will do in the future.
D) requires active participation on the part of interest groups and voters.
E) is no longer possible, given the amount of money spent on campaigns.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a factor that distinguishes U.S. elections from those of other countries?
A) In the United States, Election Day is a national holiday.
B) In the United States, the election to fill each office is separate and independent from elections for other offices.
C) In the United States, elected government positions have fixed terms of office.
D) The United States has more elections than any other democratic country.
E) None of these is correct.
Q3) The United States holds fewer elections than almost any other democratic nation.
A)True
B)False
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) Congressional power is detailed in
A) Article I of the Constitution.
B) Article II of the Constitution.
C) Article III of the Constitution.
D) Article IV of the Constitution.
E) Article VI of the Constitution.
Q2) "Soft money" refers exclusively to the contributions the Democratic party receives.
A)True
B)False
Q3) By all accounts, the U.S. Congress is highly representative of the population it serves.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which position in Congress is created by the Constitution?
A) Speaker of the House
B) president of the Senate
C) the House majority and minority leaders
D) the party whip
E) the ranking majority member
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The President
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Questions
Q1) The president tends to fare better with ________ policy than on domestic policy.
Q2) President Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for
A) legislation designed to end the Great Depression.
B) deploying troops to protect American economic and political interests.
C) "New Freedom" program to break up industrial combinations.
D) his "Great Society" program to solve social and economic problems.
E) supporting the great trusts of the American economy.
Q3) What changed the president's role by requiring him to submit an annual budget to Congress accompanied by rationales and justifications?
A)The Budget Act of 1921
B) Woodrow Wilson's change to an annual State of the Union address
C) the Employment Act of 1946
D) the creation of the Federal Reserve Board in 1913
E) the creation of the Bank of the United States
Q4) How have modern presidents tended to use the cabinet?
Q5) How did Franklin Roosevelt change the functions of the presidency?
Q6) For what is Woodrow Wilson's presidency notable in terms of relationship with the people?
Q7) According to Richard Neustadt, presidential power is what?
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Q8) Presidential succession and disability is discussed in the ________ Amendment.
Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Q1) What power does Congress use to control the federal bureaucracy?
A) its power to control the budgetary process
B) its power to override presidential vetoes
C) its power of approving civil service promotions within the departments
D) its power to fire bureaucrats if their performance is not satisfactory
E) Congress has no power to manage or control the bureaucracy.
Q2) What is meant by "red tape" in the bureaucracy?
A) government documents which are sealed with red tape
B) the rules, regulations, and forms produced by the bureaucracy
C) the top-secret audio and video tapes showing what Communists around the world are plotting
D) the direct audio link between the State Department and the Russian embassy
E) the quick and efficient means by which bureaucracies respond to presidential directives.
Q3) How much discretion do executive branch agencies have to execute the law?
Q4) The size of the federal bureaucracy is a popular topic, among presidents, legislators, and the public. How big is the federal bureaucracy and how has its size changed in recent years? What efforts have been made to control the size of the federal bureaucracy?
Q5) What attitudes do most Americans have towards the executive branch bureaucracy?
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Q1) Which of the following concerning judicial activism is TRUE?
A) It is only practiced by liberal judges.
B) It is the same thing as "original intention."
C) It is only practiced by conservative judges.
D) The modern Supreme Court is more activist than it was in the past.
E) none of the above
Q2) Lacking the obvious democratic institution-being elected-the courts are often criticized for being an undemocratic institution. What are some ways in which the courts are undemocratic? What are some ways in which the courts are democratic? Assess the evidence: on balance do you think the court is more democratic or undemocratic? Justify your answer.
Q3) Throughout American history, Supreme Court justices have
A) tended to be white, male Protestants.
B) been overrepresented by Catholics and Jews.
C) been fairly representative of the population as a whole.
D) tended to serve two or three years.
E) tended to serve in other branches of government, first.
Q4) What is the function of federal district courts?
Q5) How specific is the Constitution regarding the judicial branch?
Q6) A ________ is what a court determines must be done to rectify a wrong.
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Chapter 15: Freedom: the Struggle for Civil Liberties
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Q1) Which of the following is assured in the Fourth Amendment?
A) Citizens have the right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury.
B) Citizens are free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
C) Citizens are protected from double jeopardy and self-incrimination.
D) Excessive bails and fines are prohibited.
E) Congress may not abridge the right to assemble.
Q2) According to the authors of your text, campus speech codes
A) are typically supported by civil libertarians.
B) have been upheld consistently by the courts.
C) show how the college campus has become one of the most visible battlegrounds in the continuing struggle over the meaning of free speech in the United States.
D) are very rare on college campuses.
E) are completely justified.
Q3) Prior restraint is the government's power to stop the presses once publication has begun.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The major liberty stated in the original Constitution was ________.
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Q1) A ________ tax is a tax to be paid as a condition for voting
Q2) When a law falls under "strict scrutiny" by the courts, it means the law is presumed to be constitutional, and the authors of the enactment bear the burden of convincing the courts otherwise.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What impact did the Civil War amendments have on the civil rights of African Americans?
Q4) What has led to the return of segregation in public schools?
Q5) Two basic issues have dominated the story of the extension of civil rights since the mid-1960s: the ending of legal discrimination, separation, and exclusion, and the debate over affirmative action. Discuss in some detail both of these issues.
Q6) The "white primary" was a device that allowed whites who had failed the literacy test to vote; it allowed all to vote whose grandfathers had voted in the past.
A)True B)False
Q7) Define civil rights.
Q8) What kind of scrutiny do gender-conscious laws receive by the courts?
Page 18
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Chapter 17: The Budget and Economic Policies
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Q1) If the Federal Reserve Board wants to increase total demand in the economy, it decreases the money supply and raises interest rates.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Agenda setting is the process by which a problem or concern comes to the attention of government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How have commitments for national defense spending and outlays for human resource programs changed since the last year of the Carter administration (1980)?
Q4) During the progressive era, which of the following argued for greater regulation of powerful new corporations and breaking up the enormous "trusts"?
A) The Populists
B) Labor unions
C) Middle-class Americans
D) President Roosevelt
E) All of the above
Q5) ________ is about putting a policy into effect.
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Chapter 18: Social Safety Nets
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Q1) How we might conclude that the United States covers fewer people than other rich democracies?
A) The United States ranks low on measures of the amount of money spent on social welfare programs and the degree to which they are universal.
B) Most social welfare programs are a patchwork of coverage in the United States.
C) The United States spends the least on social welfare programs.
D) Universal medical coverage is weighed in favor of the elderly in the United States.
E) Maternity leave is not paid leave in the United States.
Q2) The lion's share of social welfare spending is for ________.
Q3) The American system of social welfare requires much more of private employers than in the systems of other rich democracies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) First identify components of social insurance programs and then discuss the nature of each program.
Q5) Describe the battle between various groups over Social Security in early 2005
Q6) What do the 1996 changes in the welfare system require of unmarried mothers?
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Q1) The United States Congress is the primary decision maker on foreign policy issues.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Who believes that the United States should use its military and diplomatic power in the world in cooperation with other nations and international organizations?
A) Multilateralists
B) Isolationists
C) Unilateralists
D) Hegemonists
E) Imperialists
Q3) Which of the following was a consequence of the Iraq war?
A) Donald Rumsfeld was replaced by Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.
B) Republicans took control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections.
C) President Bush has continued to gain in public support.
D) The public has increasingly supported the war in Iraq.
E) The preemptive theory of foreign policy has proven to be a success.
Q4) Discuss the history and structure of the United States as a superpower.
Q5) Which branch of government tends to control foreign policy decision making? Why?
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